#82 Paine Mountain Hosted Norwich Skiers for Nearly 70 Years

The first Norwich skiing club was formed in 1899. The construction of infrastructure on Paine Mountain began in 1923 with the installation of a ski jump. Throughout the 1920s, the jump was raised to new heights each year as it was reconstructed every winter. In 1925, the “Outing Club” became a member of the Eastern Ski association. Cadets eagerly participated in skiing and snowshoeing competitions around the region, facing teams from Dartmouth, Middlebury, and University of Vermont as well as local residents from Northfield, Rutland, Brattleboro, and beyond.

Ski competitions grew to include jumping, downhill racing, slalom, and skijoring, a sport similar to waterskiing wherein one student on skis would be pulled by another student riding a horse. The first rope tow was installed in 1936, one of the first in Vermont. That same year, Austrian skier Sepp Ruschp became the ski team coach and head of the new Ski School. Lights were added to the slopes in 1937, making it possible for the team to practice during the dark days of a Vermont winter.

For nearly 40 years, the rope tow was the only conveyance up the mountain. A Poma platform lift improved things in 1962. The most dramatic transformation took place in 1970, when the ski area opened to the public. The installation that year of a chair lift and other major improvements transformed Paine Mountain into a regional skiing destination. Students, locals, and visitors alike enjoyed amenities such as a snack bar and miles of trails.

The chair lift ran for the last time in 1992, when the university closed the ski area for financial reasons. Today, cadets and locals still enjoy the Paine Mountain trails in all seasons thanks to the Shaw Outdoor Center, and discounted lift tickets to nearby resorts are available to those who just can’t resist the slopes.

Recent Facts

In a previous post, we shared how the Norwich campus hosted over 1,700 trainees in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) during World War II. Always one to rise to the occasion, the university was also one of over 200 schools that participated in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) from 1943-1944. The ASTP curriculum was developed in 1942 in …

In the mid-1880s, Lewis College had just transitioned back to being called Norwich University. The school had been teetering on the brink of financial collapse just a few years prior, and had been rescued by alumnus Charles Lewis. It was during this period of recovery that Norwich offered, for the first time, a Bachelor of Architecture degree. Architectural drawing had …

Arthur Wallace “Pop” Peach was a native Vermonter to the bone, once describing himself as “hopelessly provincial.” He was born and raised in southern Vermont, graduating from Brattleboro High School and then from Middlebury College in 1904. He earned his PhD from Columbia University and later received two honorary degrees from Norwich, a master’s in 1933 and a doctorate in …

Harold Douglas “Doc” Martin was a native of Roslindale, Massachusetts, who entered Norwich University as a cadet in 1916, the first African-American to do so. While at Norwich, Martin studied electrical engineering and was heavily involved in student life. He was the star of the varsity football team in addition to playing baseball and hockey. He was also in Mandolin …

Thomas Orville Seaver was born just before Christmas in the small town of Cavendish, Vt., in 1833, the eldest of eight children. After a year at Tufts University, he attended Norwich from 1856 to 1858. He left the university after two years and finally graduated from Union College in 1859. Seaver was in training to become a lawyer when the …

In August 1945, President Homer Dodge issued a statement in the Norwich Record about veterans seeking an education at Norwich. He articulated the diverse needs of the veteran student body and pledged the university’s support for veterans of varied backgrounds and experiences. The president committed Norwich to “giving returning veterans the best we have.” The policies he implemented included allowing …

Index

“200 Things About Norwich” is a project of the Bicentennial Commemoration Committee. Each week the column will feature little-known facts about Norwich told through historical documents, personal accounts, archival footage, photographs, and artifacts. Do you have a suggestion for a topic? Email your idea to bicentennial@norwich.edu.